Washington may be adding a medical Quick Responder Service, or QRS. City council member Danielle Pettit-Majewski explained why they’re looking to add this in Washington, “We currently don’t have anything in the city and we haven’t for a long time. And we just kind of used Washington County Ambulances as our first responder service, but they could easily be in Brighton, or at the University, or in the middle of a transport. And so this is really to try to fill that gap for when there’s a call and nobody is in the community to respond.”

A study committee including police, city council, fire department, and city staff has been looking at the process and options. At the recent Washington City Council meeting, City Administrator Brent Hinson said he feels they’re on the right track and it could be discussed during budget workshops. He said that if added, the group would partner with the county and be supportive of the new county ambulance services. He said the goal is to have “ducks in a row by mid-April.”